It is reported from Ibn Sīrīn – Allāh have mercy on him – that a man once said to Ibn ‘Umar – Allāh be pleased with him:

Can we offer you some Jawārish? He inquired, “And what is Jawārish?” The man replied, “It is something that will help you digest your food if you get too full up.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “I have not eaten my fill for four months – not because I cannot find food, but because I have lived with people who used to eat their fill at times and go hungry at others.

Abū Dāwūd, Al-Zuhd article 325.

It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrī – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

By He in whose Hand is my soul, I have lived amongst people who never ordered food to be prepared for themselves If [food] was presented to one of them, he would eat, otherwise, he would be silent; and he would not care if it was hot or cold.

Abū Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 6:270.

It is also reported that he said:

By Allāh, I have lived amongst people who when taking lunch, if they were about to be full, would stop eating.

Ibid.

It is reported that Al-Fudayl b. ‘Ayyād – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

It is unfitting for a believer that his belly becomes his greatest concern, or that his desires dominate him.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Al-Jū’ (The Book of Hunger) article 105.

It is also reported that he said:

Whoever controls his belly controls all good deeds.

Ibid. article 99.

It is reported that the Tābi’ī (Successor) ‘Uqbah b. Wassāj – Allāh have mercy on him – was once at a wedding reception where many kinds of dishes were offered and people started trying one dish after another. He started to cry, and said:

“I found the first part of this Ummah fearing all this upon themselves.” And he ate only from one dish.

Ibid. article 261.

It is reported that Muhammad b. Sīrīn – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

A man from the Companions of the Prophet – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – would sometimes go three days without finding anything to eat, so he would grill some animal skin and eat that. If he couldn’t find anything at all, he would [tie] a rock to himself to straighten his back.

Verily you are in greatly troubled times. Only one with true insight knows the times you live in. Verily you are in a time of [people] boasting and being proud. [1] Their tongues are swollen in their mouths, and they seek worldly gain through the deeds of the hereafter. So be warned against them for yourselves, lest they catch you in their nets. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you devour [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you boast with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you seek to amass [wealth] with your knowledge. O scholar, you are a scholar yet you transgress [against others] with your knowledge. If you had truly sought this knowledge for Allāh, it would have been seen on you and in your deeds.

[1] The word in some reports is tafākhur (boasting and being proud) but in some other versions, other somewhat ambiguous words are found in its place.